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Gujarat Titans skipper Hardik Pandya<\/a> on Thursday urged his batters to be a bit more adventurous in the middle overs, in their upcoming Indian Premier League matches. Defending champions GT registered a six-wicket victory over Punjab Kings after Mohit Sharma’s (2-\/18) excellent return to the IPL and opener Shubman Gill<\/a>‘s 49-ball 67. However, the game got quite close at the end with GT completing a chase of 154 with a ball to spare, something Hardik did not appreciate.<\/p>\n “To be very honest, I would not appreciate the game to\u00a0go this close from the situation we were in. There was definitely a lot for us to learn from this game. That’s the beauty of sports, it’s never over till it’s over,” Hardik said at the post-match presentation.<\/p>\n “So we will go back to the drawing board. I think we can take a couple more risks in the middle overs. We should take risks and play shots in the middle overs, need to make sure the game doesn’t go so deep.<\/p>\n “The wicket was good but because of the hardness of the soil and wicket, the ball was getting dried up. It was a belter when the new ball was playing.” He was very impressed with medium-pacer Mohit for his fine outing with the ball.<\/p>\n Playing in his first game in the league since 2020, Mohit was exceptional in the penultimate over, giving away as little as six runs.<\/p>\n “I was not surprised, when Mohit and Alzarri (Joseph) came. They bowled terrific. And credit to Mohit. To come join us as a net bowler and then wait for his chance, knowing his time will come and today it came. He has done a lot of hard work, he has shown patience and his time has come,” Hardik said of Mohit.<\/p>\n Coming back to the result, the skipper said, “It will be a tough pill to swallow, taking it this close. Not a big fan of taking the game to the last over.” PBKS captain Shikhar Dhawan<\/a> again expressed his disappointment with the team’s batters after another poor show.<\/p>\n “We did not put many runs on the board. We have to rectify that thing going forward. If you see the number of dot balls, if a team plays 56 balls, you end up losing the game.<\/p>\n “Losing early wickets puts you on the back foot and we need to work on that,” Dhawan said.<\/p>\n Player of the Match Mohit said, “I have had a good time at this venue. I thought of sticking to my variations, had a chat with Hardik in the middle overs, luckily it paid off.<\/p>\n “You need to train hard, give your 100 percent. Need to bowl according to the situation, and stick to the basics. I was given a role to bowl after 10 overs. Credit goes to the coach who has defined everyone’s role in the team,” Mohit said.<\/p>\n